Setup and Security

Make the following setting changes on your wireless router, or verify that they've already been made:

Change the manufacturer's default name for the network name (SSID) to something unique.

Change the login and password of your router’s admin user account to something unique and different than the default.

Set the broadcast SSID to "on" or "enable" (typically the default setting).

For security, use WPA or WPA2.

The following security methods are not recommended for securing your network because they can be easily broken:

MAC address filtering

Disabling SSID broadcasting

WEP key encryption. If you must use WEP, the 'Open' mode is more secure than the 'Shared' mode.

For the encryption type select AES (Advanced Encryption Standard). AES is the newest and most secure way of encrypting data on your wireless network. Create a WPA passphrase that is at least 13 characters. Use numbers, letters, upper and lower case and punctuation to ensure strong network security.

Be sure to record your wireless settings, because you'll need this information when you add wireless devices to your wireless network.

When you are done configuring your router, make sure to click "Apply" or "OK" to apply the settings you've made or changed. If you are configuring an existing wireless router that already had wireless devices connected, you'll need to configure each wireless device with the new configuration information.